21 Nov 2011 2 Comments
in Garden Projects, Living Healthy, Photography, Succulents, water wise garden Tags: designing with succulents, encinitas fall festival, garden seashells, holiday succulents, San Diego garden blog
♥ At the Encinitas Fall Fair this past weekend a few vendors got clever with succulents and seashells. These were created by “Plant Kreations”.
Echeveria in an abalone shell
creative shark planter: To order any of these gifts call: Kim at #562-608-6577. She did not have a website.
31 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in organic gardening, pets, Photography Tags: Chihuahuas, Halloween Chihuahuas, San Diego garden blog
Happy Halloween!
11 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in Garden Design, Garden Fruits, Living Healthy, organic gardening, Vegetable/ Herb Garden Tags: nadia knows gardens, organic gardening, raised garden ideas, San Diego garden blog, sugar baby watermelon, watermelon
Watermelon growing in-between planters
These melons were started as small plants vs. seeds in wine barrels with the vine trained to grow over the barrell and on to the ground. If your garden has space limitations then growing the vines on the ground and along pathways may give your vine plants that extra room needed for meandering growth.
Small sized watermelon almost ready to pick
* When a watermelon is ready to be picked it should be ripe and ready for eating. Have you heard that watermelons do not continue to ripen off the vine? This was new information for me so I’m waited to harvest these beauties. Watermelon should have a dull colored rind and a brown dried stem when it is ready to be picked. Watermelon are heavy feeders meaning they need steady watering. The soil needs to be rich and fertile with a healthy amount of calcium in the mix. Trellising is also an option by using small fabric slings to support their weight as they are suspended in the air. Coastal San Diego gets a lot of overcast days with sunny and warm days leading into October creating a late growing season for my melons.
Raised planter: watermelon, rosemary, eggplant, parsley and a few green onions.
Late growing season for watermelon in San Diego. The skin of the melon is a shiny green as it grows, then turns dull when it is ready to be picked.
Super Ripe !
Chula my Chihuahua with a Sugar Baby Watermelon. Watermelon = 7 pounds & Chula = 6.5 pounds
04 Jun 2010 3 Comments
in Cactus, Flowers, Photography Tags: Cactus Flower, Echinopsis, San Diego garden blog, Trichocereus brevispinulosis, white blooming cactus
After eight years this columnar cactus in my yard expressed its first bloom with a very light fragrance and lasting only 24 hours. A little internet research helped me find the botanical name: Trichocereus brevispinulosis a native to South America also known as part of the Echinopsis spp. family of cactus.
26 Apr 2010 5 Comments
in Cactus, euphorbia, Garden Design, Photography Tags: designing with succulents, drought tolerant landscape, nadia's garden blog, ocean friendly garden, San Diego garden blog, xeriscape landscape design
Water friendly landscaping comes with a variety of titles such as xeriscape, drought-tolerant, California natives and ocean-friendly just to name a few. Creating a drought tolerant landscape doesn’t mean that its synonymous with a “zero-scape” of bland looking plants surrounded by a sea of rock. This photos below shows my side yard with a raised planter 5 feet deep and 20 feet long. Five years ago I turned off the water supply and planted succulents, aloes, euphorbias and cacti. In the winter months nature takes care of all the watering and in the summer months it gets a light sprinkling once a week with the hose. No fertilizers, pesticides or weed-killer. One unexpected benefit from creating this water-friendly garden is the wildlife visiting in greater numbers than ever before, lizards, dove, hummingbirds and bees. With succulents, cacti and aloe blooming all year-long and a fire-resistant area spanning across the entire side of my yard I think it was a good choice of landscape design.
Check out these resources for drought tolerant landscape information: Ocean Friendly Gardens, Be Water Wise.com, Xeriscape website.
Thank you for visiting my garden blog: http://www.nadiaknows.com
Plant-Grow-Enjoy
22 Mar 2010 8 Comments
in Flowers, Living Healthy, Vegetable/ Herb Garden Tags: Fallbrook Day Trip, nadia's garden blog, Roadside Garden Stand, san diego day trip, San Diego garden blog, san diego travel
Chubs the dog that sat on command which made me happy because I got a great photo of him!
There is nothing more quaint than stopping at a roadside garden stand and being greeted by an adorable old dog like this one, his name is Chubs and quite photogenic and friendly. On a day-trip out to Fallbrook, Ca just 30 minutes inland from coastal North San Diego county sits “Diane’s Herb’s, Flowers & Things” where homegrown fresh and dried herbs, bath and beauty herbal products, vegetables and soaps are produced and grown on premises.
I came home with a carload of beets, lettuce, parsley, a bouquet of dried roses, a jar of honey and several bars of lavender soap. Did I mention the surprise at bargain prices for such quality products? Diane’s roadside shop is adorned with hanging herbs and roses drying upside down from the ceiling and hand painted garden signs everywhere. The “wildflower honey” seemed to have a different taste and aroma compared to clover honey, or maybe that was just my imagination. I’m already looking forward to my next visit and wondering if I should take my Chihuahuas along for the ride, I think they would like to meet Diane’s dog.
For both garden gurus and day trip enthusiasts alike, this is a wonderful place to visit in the San Diego region.
* (760) 728-1251
24 Feb 2010 7 Comments
in Vegetable/ Herb Garden Tags: Garden Chihuahuas, Gardening Dogs, Retriever Rescue, San Diego garden blog
Our mom thinks we like to garden, but we really just like to pose for photos and keep her company when she’s in the garden. We are not too excited about the turnips and radishes that are shown growing in this photo, we prefer broccoli. Contrary to popular opinion concerning the chihuahua breed being “un-trainable” we actually passed obedience class and will sit and stay on command, with one exception being UPS deliveries which we still run out to the truck if we can sneak by the adults.
Chihuahuas and Turnips
Roxy is the Golden Retriever that our parents adopted from the Golden Retriever Rescue of San Diego about 7 months ago, she was used for 7 years as a breeding mill mommy in very bad conditions (see this website on puppy mills) and is adjusting to a happier life with us now. It took us a little while to get used to her because she is so much bigger than we are, but Roxy is a gentle giant. We all like to chew on carrots and smell all the vegetables growing in the garden. Mom calls us “her gardening dogs”.
Roxy
When we get tired out from helping mom we like run around in the backyard, or take long naps relaxing in the sun. It’s a good life being a dog and living in a warm climate.
